Driving stories with drones

I’m am a habitual photographer, and thanks to my smartphone, I take about five digital photos every day. The other day, it was capturing XXL Watermelon Jell-O shots from BuzzFeed Food. And apparently I’m not alone. Consumers want to share life’s experiences in real time with friends. In fact, an overwhelming 79 percent of millennials share their own photos online (Pew Research). With so many photos, the quest to find unique stories and perspectives can be a challenge. The trend of drone photography provides unique aerial views and creates the feeling of being in that location.

Since Americans are getting married later, with a median age of 28, it’s not surprising that millennials are driving change. One of the top trends in weddings for 2016 will be drones capturing beautiful, cinematic images of people from unique vantage points (imagine that visual), and during the priceless moments when they least expect it.

As more professional photographers and hobbyists buy drones for photography, there are communities forming like dronestagram with more than 30K members who appreciate the aerial views and techniques from drone photography.

Fast forward to today’s news on the Drone Café in the Netherlands, which announced a new café would take your coffee order and deliver it to your table by drone (with hopefully no spills!). Imagine if the drone could do more than fly drinks around and take your photo —#droneselfie.

Today’s consumers want to explore creative and technological innovations that allow them to express themselves in hyper-individualized ways. And drone photography is a kind of life-hack. The idea of looking at the world from above instead of from the ground can inspire everyone to be interested in drone photography and capture something unique and worthy of sharing.